Comments

If they had to close the side entrance due to theft during the day, how are they going to prevent it in the wee hours of the morning with a skeleton crew?

I was skeptical about the alleged loss of $11K/month prior to the side entrance lock down, but yesterday I saw this guy just dumping container upon container of Dove body wash into a duffel bag without a care in the world. The three security guards on duty were just gabbing away in the front of the store at the time.

I would love to say I made a citizen’s arrest or otherwise got involved, but no. Life is sometimes cheap in the ghetto and mine is worth more than a dozen bottles of body wash.

this is a good development for those way late night beer/wine/milk/ice cream missions. on the other hand, stores that are open 24 hours remind of the old 24 hour CVS at 7th and H which was typically an educational but not so pleasant shopping experience.

I’d like to know what the point in having a seafood department is if they’re going to sell only visually repulsive fish. Who is buying this abused product? I’ll tie this in to the present post by noting that the new hours of the Safeway are likely to result in even lower quality fish, as it sits out for an extra eight hours.

>> “the new hours of the Safeway are likely to result in even lower quality fish, as it sits out for an extra eight hours.”

I can’t say for sure what Safeway plans to do, but often meat, deli, and seafood departments close at 9 or 10pm even if the store is 24 hours. They should put away some/most of their product each evening before the staff of each department leaves. Atleast that’s what we did when I worked at a grocer in high school…

…terrible service and for NOTHING! I went in there last night and found the produce section to be a COMPLETE & dirty MESS! As empty and barren as an African desert! What is up with this?!? Did all the farm animals eat all of the fruits and veggies or something?

Amazingly worst store ever. The filth and disarry of the fruit and veggie section, the boxes everywhere, and the absolutely horrible service all are too much. Unfortunately it is a block away so I go there from time to time for minimal items, but everytime I do a little piece of me dies.

Thankfully, I do have a car and can go to the NOMA Harris Teeter for my real shopping–what a pleasant and different experience!

@Dub – they’ve change store managers time and time again since opening. I’m convinced it’s the culture from the entry level employees. The original store manager should have been more selective with the initial hires. Now the lazy and antisocial employees have been there too long to easily terminate and replace in a Safeway union environment.

@Gus – I think you’re giving an unearned break to management. Sure, some of the employees are indifferent, but when I was shopping there regularly my problems with the store weren’t the employees. If sections aren’t regularly stocked, that’s a management problem; if food remains on the shelves well past its expiration date, that’s a management problem; if the store is filthy, management; if security personnel are enjoying their social hour instead of minimizing theft, management.

There are plenty of employees in the store, but management does not utilize these human resources correctly. The last time I went to this Safeway, the lines were longer than usual, each reaching halfway down each aisle. (A storm was coming, if I recall.) Not all registers were open, yet everyone knew that every grocery store in town was going to be packed. I saw an employee staffing a sampling station, with cheese of something (oh, so Whole-Foods like!). Nobody was sampling anything. Management should have had this employee at least bagging groceries to help speed things along at a register. But to bring in cashiers in anticipation of an impending storm? Eh, people can wait, and we’ll save a little overtime.

If Safeway keeps replacing managers, why don’t they replace the manager who hires these failed managers, and that manager’s manager and on up the line until people finally start getting it? The hourly workers are going to do only as well as management leads them to be; some exceptional ones do anyway, but with no leadership present, quality and service will decline.

This Safeway is awful. The aisles are narrow, and always plugged up with inconsiderate people and product displays.

For cheap canned goods and commodity staples, I’ll slum it up at the Giant. For organic, ethically-raised, free-range turkey sausage, I’ll brave the crowds at Trader Joe’s. And for everything else, I’ll go to the new Harris Teeter.

Yes, I was surprised the other night when I was stopped while trying to leave the store and had to show my receipt, and allow my bags to be inspected, before leaving. The person performing the inspections was professional, efficient, and friendly, but I still had to wait behind three other people just to leave, which was really annoying. I hope they give up on this new system soon, or I might end up taking at least some of my business elsewhere.

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Thais Austin has lived in the Mount Vernon Triangle since 2006 with her dog Davis. She is an active community volunteer with the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association, Mount Vernon Triangle CID, and with the DC Association of REALTORS. She brings to the blog a background in journalism, urban planning, and real estate and development. She is a REALTOR with Long and Foster, officing out of both Logan Circle and Bethesda Gateway locations and can be contacted at thais@lnf.com.